which hoof boot to choose?

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inthehills

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I'm having a dilemma... looking at getting some hoof boots for my highland and it's been suggested that either the renegade, scoot boot or cavallo trek are the ones most likely to fit. I can get fitting shells but it would be nice to narrow the choice down slightly.

Has anyone got any recommendations please? the cavallo look appealing on price and look easy to fit but am concerned they may rub around the pastern?

thank you :)
 
I have renegades, I couldn't get scoots to fit anything and the cavallos are just to big and clunky.
Why do you want boots? what are you planning on doing in them? How long has your horse been barefoot? are his feet likely to change shape?

The important thing to look at is tread and grip especially on mud and wet slick grass.

I would have a look at hoof boutique. Consider sending your measurements to them,

I would imagine that easyboot epics would fit, they fit many. There are also gloves which could fit.
 
Contact Liz at the Hoof Bootique! She's really helpful and suggests what boots based on your horses measurements and level of activity. I've just bought the Equine Fusion Ultimate's for my horse and love them :) I previously had the Cavallo Sport and whilst they're perfectly fine for transitioning in/ handwalking out etc I wouldn't want to do fast work in them as they're very bulky and don't have decent grip. In fact my horse lost his footing, bucked and threw my mum off (where she then knocked herself out oops) because we cantered on slightly wet grass in them. Oh and they rubbed his heels too.
 
thanks for all the fantastic replies- all really helpful :-)
Liz at Hoof Bootique has been great, she's suggested those three types for fit but I wanted to narrow it down so I wasn't having to hire so many and also wanted some user opinions!
Grip is going to be really important as we have a lot of steep, slippery paths so I'll put the cavallo to the bottom of the list. Definitely don't want any extra horse and rider acrobatics!
thanks again everyone
 
I bought hoof boots last summer after booking a horsey holiday for my horse to split his hoof enough that the farrier couldn't get a shoe on (without it coming off anyway) with 2 weeks before holiday I researched and decided on the cavallo. My horse is a tb so we have the sport boots which are the slim fit ones but they've been great! Didnt have much time for him to get used to them but he took to them like a duck to water. As he hadn't worn them that long I took them off at craven farm ride as it was all grass. But he has worn them fine since. Admittedly not done a massive amount if faster work, mainly walk and trot but they've been great. Have now even started doing short road hacks barefoot :-) I was concerned about rubbing but we've been fine.
 
I honestly think you can't avoid some level of trial and error with boots, especially when it comes to things like rubs. Some horses just seem more prone, or have a funny action and have issues with rubs while others don't in the exact same boot. If you've already narrowed it down to a few models I'd go with what seems like the best value for money from your perspective (taking into account your preferences e.g. on dealing with fiddly straps etc.), then hire the boots on trial. Fit kits are great too, but you won't be able to test whether your chosen boot will give you any problems with rubs unless you ride in it a couple of times in a row, for a reasonable amount of time. If you wanted to try Cavallos first, I might just go ahead and buy a used pair since they are cheap and easily available. But for either Renegades or Scoot boots, I think I'd want to hire first (unless you're lucky and a pair in the right size comes up used, but that doesn't happen often).

I've been using Gloves for a couple of years now, but also had Renegades for a spell, and tried Cavallos. The Cavallos did rub (though gaiters might have fixed that problem, never tried them with) on my horse, and the Renegades were too expensive for my taste, considering that my horse wore holes in them within four months (he is particularly hard on boots). They didn't rub or budge, but made an annoying clackity-clack noise and were a bit more clumpy than the Gloves.
I do like the look of the Scoots, but haven't yet had the chance to see them live. I'm a bit worried that the bit that goes over the heel bulbs might rub (this is where the Cavallos rubbed, and where even the Glove gaiters rub on my horse if I don't modify them) so I'm holding out for more reports on how the Scoots perform long-term.
 
thanks for more food for thought :-)
interesting comment about the renegades wearing through, especially as they are at the high end of the market price wise. A new set of those three times a year would be a bit painful on the pocket!
 
if grip on bad surfaces is important then renegades are top of the list. They are not cheap BUT the cost of your horse loosing his footing and ending up on the ground could be expensive. (leaving aside the damage to yourself) I rode in 4 renegades today on a lot of mud and slick grass on slopes and can honestly say I felt 100% confident. There is nothing worse than feeling nervous on a slipping horse.

As for wear see if you can get renegade vipers to fit. I can't but having looked at them I think you will get a lot more mileage out of them. I would order a fit kit of both vipers and renegade classics (if Liz thinks they could fit)

don't forget you will get longer wear out of them if you can do less road work and more on grass. That is the same for any boot but of course you can only do more on grass if they have good enough tread.

the renegades do make a bit of a clacking noise but it isn't really a problem and is far less than the noise of shoes. They are a bit more clumpy to look at than gloves but they have better grip. They are not clumpy on the feet when riding as for example cavallos are.
 
thanks :-)
I've just received some fitting shells for the renegades and scoot boot so will see how they fit (just need to find my pony's hooves under all the mud first!)
 
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